"The greatest test of life is obedience to one's Masters."
Revna reclined on the bench for a while longer before she realized something wasn't right. The distant calls of bird pokemon that were common in the area had all stopped. The whole place had gone eerily silent, and she couldn't even hear her own pokemon making noise. Every last one of them had disappeared from sight. She had sent her ragtag team to look for wild pokemon, but she hadn't expected they might have to range far to find one.
Revna suddenly got a bad feeling about it but she didn't know why. She hoped they hadn't all gone down to the beach, which was about five minutes away. The bench was along the main path at the beginning of the route where there was a small area of forest, though to continue on would lead to the ocean. Revna found the silence to be unnerving and she was getting anxious when almost ten more minutes passed without a single footstep or call. Revna stood up from the bench and walked a couple of feet off the path before she cupped her hands to her mouth.
"Torden, Specular, Björn, Canute...did any of you have any luck finding anything yet?"Torden had poked his nose into several bushes but all of the scents had been stale. However, when he had gone a little deeper into the small stretch of forest, he had caught the salty scent of the ocean waves on the breeze. Having had no luck finding a fresh scent in the forest, he decided to go down to the beach. After all, Revna had told him to go find a wild pokemon and he didn't want to disappoint her. Not only because he was loyal, but because he knew he would be disciplined if he didn't. Food might be withheld or he might be given smaller portions than the others, and he was already hungry.
Upon setting his paws onto the sand of the beach, his luck immediately changed. He could see a small light blue pokemon clinging to the rocks to avoid being swept into land by the waves, which didn't seem to be that high. At least, it sure looked out of place among the rocks but he wanted to get closer to be sure. He bounded his way closer and saw red eyes focus his way. He wasn't allowed to get any closer, because he got a squirt of water to the face and eyes. The Yamper pawed at his face and shook his head, and by the time he was able to open his eyes again the small light blue pokemon had fled into the water and out of sight.
Specular hadn't gone to the ocean as Torden had. No, he had chosen to check the tops of all of the trees in the area. Bug pokemon were fairly common amongst the trees he was pretty sure, and that's what he expected to find. However, he wasn't that familiar enough with the route to know that bug pokemon weren't very fond of frequenting it. The nearby ocean tended to attract too many bird pokemon that preyed on them. Specular found signs of other bird pokemon though, such as a hollow in a tree with an abandoned nest in it.
There were no eggs or anything though, and after a thorough investigation the Murkrow decided there was no point in waiting around for the ones who had made it to come back. He was suprised how few wild pokemon were in the area, and wondered if they had been disturbed by humans too much to stick around. Specular left the abandoned nest behind and flapped his wings as he fluttered over towards the next tree trunk. He was only a few feet away, when his keen eyes spotted something light brown below. He opened his beak to call an alert, but then closed it in a hurry when he realized it was just Björn. It appeared as though the little Swinub had decided to go in the same direction he had.
Canute had his own ideas about where to look for other pokemon. He was eager for a good scrap, and he had high hopes of finding a challenging opponent. He scuttled back down the path that Revna had used to get to the bench, figuring that some wild pokemon might be checking it out for any possible crumbs of food left behind by his human trainer. He saw a few small gray figures bunched together upon the path and slowed down and moved off to the side of the path, hoping that they hadn't spotted him yet. They were some kind of bird pokemon that were pecking at the grit on the path, at least from what he could tell. It took a minute or two of watching them before the name finally came to him.
Pidove. That was the name of them, he was relatively sure. He saw one of them glance in his direction and immediately froze in place, hoping that the pokemon would mistake him for a squarish-shaped rock. After all, even Canute knew that Pidove weren't exactly the brightest pokemon around. He was immesurably disappointed when the Pidove all gave startled cries and flew off in a flurry of wings, faster than Canute could hope to react. The Crustle thought at first that the Pidove had realize he wasn't a rock, but soon understood that he wasn't the one who had scared them. The sound of loud plodding footsteps had filled the air, and what sounded like some kind of metal grating together.
Revna was in the processing of quickly rearranging a few the items in her backpack while she waited for her pokemon to find a wild one. What she hadn't counted one was that the opposite could happen, and that she had just left herself defenseless on the bench. Thankfully, the wild pokemon that had decided to make her their target wasn't exactly stealthy. The plodding footsteps from behind and the shadow that engulfed the bench were enough of a warning that Revna had just enough time to roughly grab her backpack and run a few feet foward. The wild pokemon smashed into the bench behind her, sending cracked planks of wood and splinters flying everywhere. Revna was not far enough to escape unscathed and a two-inch piece of splintered wood buried itself into the fleshy part of her left calf, causing Revna to let out a screech of pain and drop down onto her knees. She clutched at the injured leg with a grimace on her face and her eyes watered from the pain, though she was doing her best to avoid allowing the tears fall.
She darted a look behind to where the bench had just been, and saw a very angry-looking Aggron glowering at her. Revna tried to keep calm but she knew she was in serious trouble because not a single one of her pokemon was within sight. She was literally at the Aggron's mercy and judging by its actions, it was not ther merciful kind. She could only hope one of her pokemon had heard her scream and would come to the sound of it. She knew she needed to buy herself time until one of them could get there...if they were coming. Revna glanced down that the piece of wood embedded in her leg and winced. She wanted to pull the splintered wood out but she feared she would start bleeding profusely if she did. Revna looked back to the Aggron and was relieved that it hadn't moved yet, likely deciding what to do with her.
"What the heck is your problem? You can't just go destroying public property and attacking someone like that. We're not far from Lilycove and they will send people and their pokemon to deal with you if you make yourself a public threat. If its food you want, there should be some among the remains of the bench. I hadn't gotten all of it back into my backpack before you attacked."The wild Aggron was annoyed that the human had managed to escape from her initial attack, though it didn't look like she would be running far with her injured leg. The human's warning did ring with truth but that didn't matter to the Aggron. Certainly the humans of Lilycove city could send someone to investigate, but it would be too late for this particular human if they did. Not to mention, the Aggron was aware all she needed to do was leave the area and go deeper into the wilderness and the humans would have trouble tracking her down.
The wild Aggron gave a derisive snort in response, but she decided that she could destroy the human at anytime she wanted. She casually swiped throught he debris of the bench, looking for the food to see if it was worth bothering with. If it wasn't, the woman was going to die a slow painful death instead of simply being crushed. It didn't take the Aggron long to find what remained of the food, crushed to dust by the impact of her attack on the bench. It had not been worth her time. She gave a loud angry bellow and then rushed towards the human, with her heavy feet slamming into the ground loudly.
Revna saw the Aggron headed her way and it looked like it meant business. It had already been close enough that she knew there was no chance to run. She tucked her legs, including the injured one up against her stomach and wrapped her arms around the tops of her legs. There was no time to do anything fancy, she just did her best to roll out of the Aggron's path. If it used any attack other than a physical one she was in major trouble, but even a physical one could still hit her because she was still only a few feet away. She was forced to squint her eyes shut as she rolled away so that she wouldn't get debris in her eyes. She took a few souvenirs with her in the form of splinters from the broken bench, but thankfully nothing as large as the chunk of wood that was driven even deeper into her leg by the ground pressure from rolling.
She could feel the vibrations on the ground from the Aggron's heavy footsteps...that's what it seemed like at first. Suddenly, the ground vibrations intensified and she could hear the sound of rolled rocks. She rolled a few more feet before sitting up in the soft grass and wincing at the pain from her leg and the various smaller splinters. Revna blinked her eyes open just as he heard the sound of boulders tumbling across the ground, followed by the ringing sound of them hitting metal.
When she looked over, her eyes confirmed what her ears had heard. Half a dozen boulders lay strewn around the rather shocked-looking Aggron's feet. A familiar orange-and-brown form came into view from further down the path. Canute had come to her rescue with a
Rock Slide attack. Revna tried to put some pressure on her injured leg but the embedded piece of wood sent shooting pains down it that made her cry out and grit her teeth. Her eyes were watering but she knew she needed to take the momentary reprieve to get out of there. Pain or no, she forced herself to move the injured leg and rose to her feet, hobbling away as fast as she could manage.
Canute held little fondness for his current trainer, but he wasn't going to just stand by and let her get killed either. Who else would provide him with food after all? Besides, the Aggron had destroyed the food that should have been his, and the Crustle wasn't going to let the wild pokemon get away with it. He smacked his pincers on the ground, not to attack but to get the Aggron's attention on him and away from Revna. He was surprised she had held out as long as she had against something so much more powerful her. In the eyes of the Crustle, humans were relatively fragile creatures.
He saw the Aggron's baleful gaze focus on him and stood his ground with his pincers raised, silently telling the Aggron through body language that he was ready to continue the fight he had started. The Aggron lunged towards him and moved much quicker than Canute had expected for a pokemon of its size. Sensing an imminent attack, the Crustle held his claws crosswise in an attempt to use them to shield himself. However, the front of the Crustle was not the Aggron's target. The Crustle's rock shell shattered apart under the impact of the Aggron's
Tackle attack, which drove Canute down into a shallow trench with crash and dirt pushed up on all sides of him. The impact had driven him directly off of the path. Although the Aggron hadn't used a move like Rock Smash, the sheer weight and power of the Aggron had been enough to break the rock apart.
Specular returned from his scouting mission just in time to see Canute's rock shattered into dust. He had heard the commotion and had flown towards the source of the sound as fast as his wings could carry him. He wanted to help Canute but after having witnesses the physical power of the Aggron firsthand, he didn't want to go anywhere near the hulking creature. The best thing he could do was try to call the rest of the team back for Canute and Revna's sake.
He took up a circling pattern far above the Aggron's head and started shrieking and calling at the top of his bird pokemon lungs. Of course, it was inevitable that doing so would draw the Aggron's attention to him but Specular didn't care. He was confident he could fly away or dodge any of the Aggron's attacks as long as he didn't get too close. The Aggron seemed to reach the same conclusion because it ignored him and pushed itself back up onto its feet. It then looked back and forth between Revna and Canute, which alarmed the Murkrow. Specular wondered if he was going to have to attack and distract it, but then he saw a familiar brown form shove a long patch of grass aside. The Murkrow was not surprised that the Swinub had made it back before Torden. He dared to circle down a little closer to the Aggron in order to draw the Swinub's attention to it right away.
Björn had been drawn back by the Murkrow's incessant calling, though he was unsure of the reason why. However, after he peered out from between the strands of his shaggy fur; he could see the hulking Aggron in the distance closing in on an orange pokemon that he did not recognize. It took him several seconds before he finally realized that it was Canute without his rock shell. The Swinub looked around for Revna and saw her in the distance, hobbling away at a pace that seemed far too slow. It was no wonder as to why the Murkrow had called everyone back. Björn had no orders from Revna to engage with the Aggron and the Swinub knew how seriously that his trainer took their obedience. If he attacked without her permission, it was likely that food would be withheld and that would be disasterous. Björn stopped moving his stubby little legs and sat back on his rump. He would fight if Revna gave him the order, but otherwise he didn't dare to get further involved.
Torden was the last of the team to straggle back in response to Specular's incessant calling. He had gotten the furthest away, and had also been distracted by various interesting scents along the beach. He hadn't been close enough to the commotion to hear the Aggron's attack on the bench or on Canute. Specular though....that Murkrow had a harsh grating voice that could be heard for miles. He assessed the situation once he was close enough to see the Murkrow circling, and his eyes widened when he spotted the Aggron. He could also see Canute in a shallow trench off to the side of the path, and the shattered remains of the bench. This was bad, like really bad.
The Yamper scampered closer without making a sound, and followed his nose. He was alarmed when the iron tang of blood hit his nostrils as he picked up on Revna's scent. He gave the Aggron a wide berth, because his top priority was reaching his trainer. He found her leaning up against a tree with one blood-stained hand gripping onto the bark to hold herself up. Torden gave a high-pitched yip to let her know that he was there before brushing his head against one of her feet, with his little lightning bolt tail wagging.
Revna was in so much pain from the chunk of wood in her leg, and it took everything in her not to rip it out. It was too deep now, and it was best to get it done at a hospital if she could get to one. Thankfully, one-by-one it seemed like her pokemon were returning and that was all thanks to Specular's quick thinking. However, the real thanks she owed was to Canute who had come to her rescue unbidden. He was the most stubborn one of the group and yet he had still chosen to help her. However, it looked like he was in trouble. The Aggron's physical power was awe-inspiring and terrifying at the same time.
To shatter a park bench like it was matchsticks was no easy feat, and shattering the rock of Canute's shell in a single attack was even worse. Revna didn't hear Torden's yip despite him being so close because of the Murkrow's shrieking voice, but she did feel his head against her foot. Having the Yamper suddenly show up was oddly comforting, even though she doubted he stood a chance against the Aggron. She looked over to see what was going on with the Aggron and Canute and was annoyed to see that Björn had returned but wasn't helping Canute. She was about to call out an order to the Swinub, but that's the moment Canute finally got his wits back and attacked the Aggron with a
Slash attack.
Canute had valiantly attacked the Aggron despite the fact he no longer had a protective shell, but the Aggron seemed completely unphased by his attack. It looked down its long nose-horn at him before giving him a cocky grin. Canute, proud pokemon that he was, crawled out of the shallow ditch the Aggron had driven him into and stood on the grass. He was annoyed when he glanced in Revna's direction to check on her and saw that she had stopped at a tree, though at least she had Torden by her side. The distraction cost him though, for the light was blotted out as the Aggron hit him with yet another
Tackle attack, which sent him skidding across the grass until he hit a tree. The edges of his vision went gray, then black, and the darkness swallowed him whole as his consciousness faded away. Two hits was all it had taken to remove Canute from the fight.
The wild Aggron wasn't done her rampage. If the human and her pokemon weren't going to leave the area, she was going to remove them by force. Satisfied that the orange-and-brown Crustle was no longer able to put up a fight, the Aggron looked up at the pesky circling Murkrow. The Murkrow noticed her gaze though and flew up higher out of reach. The wild Aggron gave an annoyed huff but decided the bird pokemon wasn't worth the trouble. The trainer's strongest pokemon was down for the count, and the ones that remained all appeared to be runts that could offer no challenge. She decided to put them out of their misery anyway, to send a message to the humans that she would tolerate their intrusions into her new territory no further. With that thought in mind, her gaze fixed on the next nearest pokemon. A small Swinub from the looks of it, and one that didn't have the guts to act on its own without orders. It was completely dependent on the human, which made her almost feel sorry for it. Almost. The wild Aggron stomped her way over towards the Swinub, who didn't seem to have the sense to flee either.
"Use Endure and quickly!" Revna called out to the Swinub, just in time to see the Aggron execute another
Tackle attack. When the dust cleared, she was relieved to see the tiny Swinub crawl out from beneath the Aggron's bulky form. The relief was short-lived though when Revna realized it was taking all of the Swinub's strength just to keep moving. Björn's shaggy fur was all scuffed up and the Swinub looked like he was in even more pain than she was. He only hadn't fainted thanks to his use of
Endure. She glanced down at Torden but knew that the Yamper probably wouldn't make it there in time. Her backpack was a goner, but thankfully she hadn't stored her pokemon's pokeballs there. They were still secured in her zipped-up jacket pocket. With one hand still stained with the blood from her leg, she unzipped the jacket poket and retrieved Björn's pokeball.
She retrieved him before the Aggron had a chance to attack again, but now it was looked her way and it looked pretty angry. She was feeling more than a little pissed off herself. If only she had more powerful pokemon, but that wasn't happening. What a prize the Aggron would have been for Team Rocket. She was never going to hear the end of it for running but she had no choice. Even a light tap from the Aggron could kill her, and her pokemon clearly stood no chance against it.
"Specular, Torden and I are leaving. I want you to keep that Aggron distracted as long as you can and then catch up to us. Do what you have to do, but don't get too close to it." Revna nodded to Torden, indicating that he should follow her. She had no intention of sending him up against the Aggron because it was clear what would happen. It really irked her to lose out on such a fantastic opportunity, but she knew her pokemon would need a lot more battle experience before dealing with a pokemon of its calibre.
Revna decided to recall the Yamper, because his bright yellow fur stood out too much. The only way she was going to lose the Aggron was if she could get some distance from it and find a place to hide. When she glanced back, she saw that Specular was doing a fantastic job of keeping the Aggron distracted. The Murkrow kept swooping above the Aggron's head and calling loudly. Revna limped away and realized that she had another problem, because the wound was still bleeding despite the hole being mostly plugged by the jagged piece of wood. She was leaving a trail of blood. She didn't have her backpack anymore and anything she could have used as a wrapping was lost. Well there was no helping it, she gritted her teeth and kept on going until she heard the sound of crashing waves. She had made it as far as the beach, though she was feeling dizzy and light-headed. It was there that she saw salvation. A young couple had towels spread out and were sunbathing to hear anything other than the distant calls of her Murkrow. They didn't seem interested in the calls, likely dismissing it as just another bird pokemon being noisy. They had a Herdier with them, who growled upon seeing her approach.
By nothing less than pure luck, it all worked out. The young woman, Janet by name, had a cell phone with her and was able to call for help. Specular showed up some time later looking worn out but satisfied. He had obviously managed to lose the Aggron somehow and had followed the blood trail to her. She didn't known how he had pulled it off, but she was grateful anyway as she recalled him. Hours later, Specular was safely tucked away in his pokeball and Revna was at the Lilycove Hospital getting some stitches on her leg after the piece of wood had been removed. Revna vowed she would take more time to train her pokemon so they would be able to be strong enough to take on an Aggron. Revna didn't know what happened to the Aggron but given the lack of news or rumors, it had likely wandered back into the wilderness somewhere. The encounter was not one she would soon forget, but she knew that there was more work to be done and there would be other chances. As for the public bench that was destroyed, it was assumed to be an accident with a trainer's tame pokemon and was replaced by Lilycove workers a few weeks later.
PATISSERIE HM RP
